The Reality of Dreams
by ProfessorLuna
Summary: Harry and Ron wake up in St Mungo's three years after the Battle of Hogwarts to find no-one beside them. Can they show the power of true love?
1. The Everlasting Past

_**Summary: Harry and Ron wake up in St Mungos three years after the Battle of Hogwarts to find no-one beside them. Can they show the power of true love?  
**_

_**Flashback (Three Years Ago)**_

_Harry sat by the dining table at the Burrow on his own after another sleepless night, looking at the Weasley's unique clock to see that his own name had been added to the faces which gave him a great sense of affection to the Weasley's. However negative waves swept through him when he saw Fred's name with the title "gone". He glanced in the small mirror beside it to see the reflection of Ginny._

_Ginny said "we all miss him too, but don't let blame yourself Harry," as if reading his mind with an unusually stern expression on her face. With that Harry dozed to sleep, his dreams full of manes of red hair._

_Harry woke up the next morning to find his head resting against the dining table only to be woken up by bickering from the stairs._

"_Oh what a surprise," muttered Harry to Ginny as he turned round to see Ron and Hermione and then lazily flicked his wand to pull back two chairs at the dining table beside him._

"_There's a letter for you three," gestured Mrs Weasley at the "Golden Trio". Harry opened it to find a letter from the new headmistress, his old Transfiguration teacher and now headmistress Professor McGonagall. _

_Dear Harry, Ron and Hermione, (Harry registered the use of their first names)_

_I wish to inform you that we would like your services in reconstructing Hogwarts School as well as notifying any members of friend and families who may assist you._

_Furthermore, the new Minister of Magic, Kingsley, would like you to fill some positions in the Auror Department without having to take your NEWT examinations, although of course Ms Granger will probably think otherwise. (Smirks arose on Harry and Ron's faces)_

_Yours Sincerely_

_Minerva McGonagall_

_Headmistress of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry_

_The trio sat silently with expressionless faces for what seemed like a long time until Hermione spoke up._

"_I think we should complete our owls first, don't you think."_

"_Just because you can get an "O" in all the exams with a blindfold on doesn't mean we can," replied Ron._

"_Oh shut up Ronald," Hermione said blushing._

_At this point all the Weasleys had gathered at the dining table all sipping Mrs Weasley's onion soup. _

"_We should all floo in after breakfast," Bill voiced to murmurs of consent._

_At precisely 10am a fortnight after the battle, the whole family flooed in to find Professor McGonagall waiting there._

"_Harry and Ron, you can take charge of the West Tower aided by Professor Slughorn and the rest of you can come with me to convene in the Great Hall."_

"_What about Hermione?" blurted out Ron with great anxiety. _

"_There will be a job with her specifically in mind," said Professor McGonagall with a Dumbledore-esc twinkle in her eye._

_Harry and Ron sauntered to the West Tower with Ron looking visibly disgruntled._

"_Look Ron you don't always need to stick to her like superglue you know."_

"_What the bloody hell is superglue?" said Ron as they almost reached the owlery._

"_A kind of muggle Spellotape," replied Harry._

_Harry and Ron continued up the dilapidated staircase having to occasionally skip a step to avoid falling before reaching the top to be greeted by a portly Professor Slughorn._

"_Harry my boy! And Rupert is it? Harry felt Ron's frustration emanating off him._

"_So Professor, are we doing the staircase or roof first?"_

"_Er, I think the roof first with enchantments of course Harry" responded Slughorn in a strangely robotic voice undetected by either Harry or Ron._

"_Protego totalum, salvio hexia, cave iminicum, protego horribilis, muffliato" muttered Harry and Ron _

_When two audible voices exclaimed, "Deprimo!" leading to the owlery floor collapsing._


	2. The Pain of Reality

"Mr Potter, Mr Potter?" enquired the aging healer peering over Harry with hope and nervousness.

"Ginny, Ron, Hermione?" muttered Harry barely moving his lips.

The healer couldn't resist but exclaim in a throaty voice "at last!"

"What happened to me?" asked Harry moderately attentively and his eyelids now slightly ajar.

"You and Mr Weasley (pointing a crooked finger to Harry's red-headed best friend a broom's length to the left of Harry's bed) have been in a coma for three years after falling from a substantial height within Hogwarts School. Mr Weasley awoke three days ago, but we kept him in an unconscious state so you could wake up at the same time. It's a miracle you survived," said the healer with little comfort in his voice.

"Where the hell is everyone?" probed Harry unaware of his rude tone as the healer began to awaken Ron.

"Wait until you and Mr Weasley has awoken and eaten then questions can be asked" said the healer calmly.

"Something's amiss," thought Harry amidst a wave of negative emotions as he placed his round rimmed glasses which were on the bedside table beside him to the bridge of his nose. For the first time in three years the "boy who lived" was able to see the world around him. Harry looked at the clock beside him which read "6:36 AM" and below it "SAT 4TH AUGUST". He found his and Ron's trunks and wands beside their beds with their brooms on top of them which only heightened Harry's anxiety.

Flexing and shifting his limbs slowly, he began to envisage what news awaited him as well as his future. After propping himself up onto the bed he bent down to unlock his trunk and opened it to reveal a lot of neatly folded clothing, but hidden within was his father's Invisibility Cloak, the Marauder's Map which revealed the map of Hogwarts and the photo album given to him by Hagrid with added photos of himself and Ginny. But before he could ponder any further he heard a recognisable voice.

"Harry!" voiced Ron loudly and thankfully, who unlike Harry leapt up to sit on his bed without thinking and ruffled up his hair slightly.

"Let's eat first," said Harry abruptly as he knew Ron would start violently expressing his thoughts at a lack of Weasleys or Hermione.

Only the tinkling of cutlery and plates was breaking the eternal silence between the two companions as they also occasionally cast furtive looks at each other. Meanwhile the healer was pacing up and down the room at a surprisingly brisk pace wearing an edgy expression.

"Have you got the Daily Prophet anywhere?" gurgled Ron to the healer through his soup which resulted in a skewed expression from Harry.

"Here, Mr Weasley,"responded the healer straightening the newspaper of its creases and giving it to Ron with slight hesitation which didn't go unnoticed by either patient.

"WHAT THE HELL!" bellowed Ron so loud that it felt as if there was tectonic activity beneath his bed.

"Are you ok Ron?" asked Harry looking visibly alarmed.

"I AM NOT OK!" Ron yelled in the same amplitude which this time caused the healer to give him a nasty look. Ron was shaking as he handed over the paper to Harry and then resorted to taking his anger out on his food as he prodded his fork into his plate so firmly that it shattered and was it not for the tray, the plate's contents of an all English breakfast would be oozing on to the mattress.

_**TWO TWOSOMES TO TIE THE KNOT**_

_Two of the heroes from the Battle of Hogwarts three years ago, Hermione Granger and Ginny Weasley, are to be married at Hogwarts Witchcraft and Wizardry to their respective partners' Bulgarian seeker Viktor Krum and Dean Thomas on the 11__th__ August. _"11th August is Ginny's birthday," thought Harry through gritted teeth. _This follows the tragic revelation released by St Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries 11 months ago that the heroes' former partners would not emerge from their comas sustained just after the Battle of Hogwarts. See more-_

Harry didn't care to see what followed and proceeded to toss the newspaper viciously out of the ward whilst still sitting on his bed onto the corridor causing a gasp to arise from the healer.

"Would you like me to inform the Weasleys of your awakening?" asked the healer rather tentatively to the two fuming patients.

"ABSOLUTELY AND UNEQUIVOCALLY NOT!" blasted Harry, pushing away his tray onto the bedside table in disgust.

"Now where are the Weasleys?" spat out Harry even though it implied in the article that they had lost hope, Harry still couldn't fathom such a situation.

"They left after it became clear that you would never wake up so we told them they were only wasting their time. Apparently we were wrong," answered the healer with patience.

"Ron we need to leave as soon as possible to avoid detection from reporters," said Harry in a more measured voice, before slumping back into his bed with a look of dismay intertwined with a look of determination. "This _wedding's_ only one week away," added Harry with a grimace.

"Well Mr Potter I'm afraid you can't apparate yet as it is not advised to use such energy expending magic for at least 24 hours after waking up from a coma. But you could use the Floo network in the medical staffroom only a few rooms away from here" requested the healer gently, interrupting Harry's thoughts.

"Where do we go? The Burrow?" asked Ron hopefully.

"No, Grimmauld Place," replied Harry curtly.

Harry and Ron changed into their muggle attire which was in their trunks and followed the healer to the fireplace. The duo thanked the healer for his services which was returned with a bow and both a dropped handful of Floo powder into the fireplace and said unmistakeably, "Grimmauld Place!"

Harry and Ron came out of the fire to find a red-headed figure sitting at the dining room table.


	3. Looking for a Path Through

Mr Weasley had his hands over a mug but his face had a look of sheer bewilderment.

"Merlin's Beard," was all he was able to get out after what seemed like a long time.

Ron and Mr Weasley had tears welling up in their eyes as they were moving

towards each other for an embrace exchanging words Harry couldn't hear, however

Harry was looking around to see Sirius' old home had been lavishly decorated with

an array of quirky furniture but it had clearly not been completed. Mr Weasley then

proceeded to hug Harry with a force that would rival Mrs Weasley's.

"What's with the decorating Mr Weasley?" asked Harry who amidst the shock of

seeing him react so unusually emotionally had forgotten to greet him.

"We thought this could be good for George and Angelina's new home. But now

you're back that changes things. I must tell Molly," Mr Weasley managed to say

between sobs of relief.

"Don't!" yelled Harry and Ron in unison.

"Why not?" came the puzzled reply.

Ron opened his trunk and handed over the Daily Prophet with rigidity in his hands

to his father who put his mug back on the dining table to pick it up.

"Ah I see," Mr Weasley said with apprehension and sadness and then gestured for

Ron and Harry to sit down opposite him at the table which was now a granite

worktop. Suddenly the slightly downcast Kreacher trundled down the staircase with

Regulus' locket around his neck but at the sight of Harry and Ron cracked a wide

smile.

"Master has returned!" in a squeaky voice Harry had never heard Kreacher use

before.

Harry gave Kreacher a grin with Ron trying to stifle his laughter.

"So boys do you have a plan?" asked Mr Weasley leaning in slightly.

"Well…, we thought we would disturb the wedding somehow," replied Harry very

hesitantly earning a look of astonishment from Ron and a thoughtful one from Mr

Weasley.

"You realise that firstly you haven't met Ginny or Hermione for a while and they

may have changed and secondly there will be very tight security surrounding

Hogwarts as well as within it so you will struggle to get inside," Mr Weasley

methodically answered.

"Well I could get some money from Gringotts for a new broom which would beat

the apparition wards," suggested Harry.

"The problem with that is that your account was closed last year due to your

condition so it would be impossible to access it without visiting Gringotts and even

then someone from the Prophet is guaranteed to notice and I'm sure that isn't what

you want," said Mr Weasley resulting in firm nods from Harry and Ron.

"Is that how you got this house then?" asked Harry

"Yes, well I inherited this estate being the so called head of the Weasley family and

with a bit of help from Kingsley, I forced your will on to our side instead of the

Dursleys'." sighed Mr Weasley with guilt in his voice.

"Sorry," mumbled Mr Weasley.

"Don't worry Mr Weasley, I'd rather you had it as Sirius knew you well," remarked

Harry with no hint of regret.

"Even though Molly thinks the fiances (making them all grimace) are a perfect

match I know who the girls truly love. And I know if there is anyone who can pull

this off it would be you two." added Mr Weasley making Harry and Ron blush as he

made his way towards the fireplace.

"Dad, where do Ginny and Hermione live?" asked Ron with a genuine air of

curiosity.

"Ginny lives in Wales now with the Holyhead Harpies and Hermione lives in a flat in

London near the ministry but they do both come to the Burrow a lot for dinner,"

replied Mr Weasley with a hint of suspicion.

"So Ginny got what she wanted," thought Harry having flashbacks to days walking

with Ginny hand in hand in the Burrow's paddock just after the Battle of Hogwarts.

Ron appeared to have thought the same for Hermione as he was dreamily gazing

into thin air.

"Wait Mr Weasley I want you do something for me at the wedding," said Harry

trailing off as Ron waved goodbye to his dad and ventured upstairs and on to the

second floor into a bedroom where he and Harry had slept 5 years ago which had

now been converted into a small nursery.

"If only," thought Ron with an air of resignation as he walked back down the stairs

to see Kreacher serving up a scrumptious breakfast for the duo.

Harry and Ron ate in silence with the exception of the occasional clattering of

cutlery or the gentle footsteps of Kreacher, both feeling relieved that Mr Weasley

had declared his full backing to regain their hearts' desires.

"Want a game of chess?" asked Ron through his breakfast to break the silence.

"Alright then," even though Harry of course knew he was going to lose but had

nothing better to do for now until they could develop their plan further.

Ron muttered a summoning charm and the Wizard chess set flew out of Ron's

trunk, shaking off some dust in flight.

"Rook to H4," declared Harry at one point resulting in one of Ron's pawns being

swept aside.

Unexpectedly Ron leapt out of chair with such vigour that the flagon of pumpkin

juice on the table rocked and said in awe of his own thinking,

"That's it, we've got to see Luna."

"What?" asked Harry with a look of bemusement etched on to his face.

"We know what Luna's like, she's fearless, bluntly honest and loyal to us. I think

she'll know we're fighting for a good cause.

Harry looked at Ron with a look of astonishment at this unusual perceptive thinking

from Ron and could only nod his head in agreement.

"It's been known to happen," Ron said shrugging his shoulders.

"We'll have to wait until tomorrow to apparate there remember," said Harry.

Harry and Ron spent the rest of the day reacquainting themselves with basic spells

for both combat and general home use, occasionally challenging each other to

friendly duels. They also made plans to make sure they were prepared to visit the

Burrow at a later point, because they wanted to be able to see Ginny and

Hermione, even if they couldn't communicate with them.

After dinner Harry and Ron were both feeling worn-out and went to sleep in Sirius'

and Regulus' room respectively, both dreaming about overcoming the barriers to

achieve their dreams.


	4. Questions Need Answers

"Arthur!" greeted her husband as he stepped out of the fireplace.  
"Tea please Molly."  
As his wife waved her wand at the kettle, Mr Weasley was not too sure how to handle the situation that he had just witnessed, despite normally being so calm. Many questions were raging through his head, "How had they come back when he and his family had been told many times that he couldn't? How could they gatecrash a wedding? Would the rest of his family accept their returns like he so easily did?"  
"What's wrong dear?" after spending over 40 years with Mr Weasley, Mrs Weasley knew when something was going on.  
"Nothing for you to worry about, just a few kettles in Brackley causing boils. We had to get the Accidental Magical Reversal Squad in sort it out but the residents wouldn't let us in, so we had to force our way in and then obliviate them," all of which had to be true as he knew he wasn't able to get away with lying to Molly, but of course was not the main reason for his visible distress.  
Luckily his answer passed the test.

Mr Weasley tapped his wand at the radio in attempt to detract attention away from himself, but regretted it immediately when Celestina Warbeck blurted out one of her many songs he couldn't name.  
Other than Molly being engrossed in the music, the Burrow was otherwise echoing an unusual quiet, unlike in the past when his children were still children and his hair still glowed a vibrant red.  
It didn't matter to him as long as they were all happy. George, he and Angelina were planning on their first child, Percy, he was working his way back through the ministerial hierarchy as he always wanted to, Bill and Charlie had been in stable relationships and were working as a curse breaker and dragon handler respectively which was also what they had wished for. Ginny, she got everything she desired, a place on the Holyhead Harpies roster and a perfect fiancé, or was he? Was Dean what her heart really desired or was there a sense of disappointment and regret over Harry? Hermione, she was as good as a Weasley, working as an officer in the Protection of Magical Creatures, dating an international Quidditch player or did she always want to be with Ron? These thoughts had been circulated through Mr Weasley throughout not just one sip of tea, most of which had not entered his stomach but hovered just before his lips, but for the past year or so.  
"I'm off to bed Molly," he told his wife in a rather weary voice.  
Mrs Weasley did not pester her husband with any more questions about her vague suspicions as she knew he was always stressed from work at this time of day.

Upon sunrise, Mr Weasley dropped off a knut in the pouch of the owl carrying the Daily Prophet (which he still subscribed to due to the ministry's regulations) and took the paper to the breakfast table.

"THE BOY WHO LIVED SPOTTED?"

was the main headline but fortunately there had been so many past appearances of this headline over the previous couple of years so he did not expect this one in particular to cause any controversy. Mr Weasley made himself toast (at least he could do that without his wife's assistance, and then set off to work.

Mrs Weasley on the other hand, was making progress on preparing the house for Ginny's visit the next day, the first for 2 months, as she had been preoccupied with Quidditch matches. She noticed the headline on the front of the Daily Prophet and also did not raise much suspicion, thinking it was just there to increase awareness about Ginny's wedding.  
She found it rather lonely in the Burrow, with only Bill and Charlie visiting every week. Fred was living in a flat above his Weasley's Wizard Wheezes, Percy and Ginny were also far away and Ron, she suddenly felt a surge of guilt at leaving his bedside unattended. Harry also, her family had taken him saving Ginny, Arthur and Rons' lives for granted and by leaving him, had completely dishonoured everything he stood for, as a fighter but above all else, a young man of total selflessness. Mrs Weasley allowed a tear to roll down her left cheek, as she decorated the front entrance with baskets of chrysanthemums and geraniums.  
As the day continued, the ever efficient witch that she was, Mrs Weasley finished her chores with plenty of time to spare, dedicating herself to reading Muggle romance novels in the hope of releasing some stress, with Arthur possibly returning in time for dinner.

As the Weasley's upgraded ingenious clock landed itself to seven o'clock, the third hand moved to "travelling" which brought a sigh of relief to Mrs Weasley, having just finished making her dinner of a slow-roasted garlic chicken and roast potatoes with carrot and coriander soup.  
"Quiet day at work today Molly," said Mr Weasley as he came bustling through the door, immediately perking up at the scent from the kitchen table.  
Mr Weasley deposited his briefcase in the living room, with his mind having solutions to most of the questions that were in his head in the morning.  
After dinner, Mrs Weasley decided to have a bath so Mr Weasley took this time to scribble a quick note to Ron and Harry.

Ron and Harry,

Ginny's coming home at noon tomorrow.

Mr Weasley

Hoping that Errol would return by tomorrow morning, which was quite optimistic considering her old age, Mr Weasley gave her an affectionate nip and she elevated out of the window and into the distance.  
Mr Weasley retired himself to his garage before sleeping, forever engrossed in Muggle artefacts, even going as far as attempting to assemble various household goods such as an alarm clock which he did not use, as it had driven Mrs Weasley spare when he had used it.  
Just as he was examining the flywheel of a two-stroke engine, a very menacing owl came through the slim window of the garage, but when he recognised it to be Kingsley's owl breathed a sigh of relief.

Arthur,

You're welcome to have the week off.  
We are pretty quiet at this time and I am sure you have other things to attend to.

Kingsley Shacklebolt  
Minister of Magic

Mr Weasley scribbled a note of gratitude and went to sleep feeling rather tired, but also exceedingly satisfied.


	5. Some Things Never Change

Harry woke up the next morning at sunrise, after having lived his first full day of his life following their coma. He was unsurprised from previous experiences to find Ron sprawled across Regulus' bed, snoring soundly.

"Wake up Ron," said Harry shaking Ron's shoulders in the process.  
Ron awoke very slowly, "having visions of a bushy-haired witch," thought Harry as he made his way downstairs.

Ron woke up with a large groan, with Harry already at the breakfast table with the breakfast which Kreacher had prepared for them. Kreacher had also prepared their lunch as Harry had assumed they wouldn't return for a while.

"So Ron, we're going to apparate under the cloak and that's about it," said Harry unable to think of anything else, although luckily for him Ron was walking too tiredly to notice.  
Ron slumped down on the chair which was fortunately relatively new so could withstand Ron's weight.  
"Ron mate what's up," asked Harry with concern?  
"It just doesn't seem real ya know, not having Hermione with me."  
"I feel the same way, I guess we need to be patient for now or we'll screw this up."

Ron and Harry ate their breakfast in silence, the only sound either being made by Ron's disgusting chewing habits or Kreacher's footsteps creaking the floorboards above.  
They had considered sending an owl first to Luna but thought that there was a risk that it would be intercepted so decided against it.  
Harry and Ron were dressed in simple Muggle clothing as to not give away any impressions of their magical qualities.

"Under the cloak Ron." Ron stowed his wand in his holster which he had happened to have found in one of the drawers in Regulus' room and together they ducked under the cloak walked to the front doorstep and Harry brandished his wand and span in a circle.  
But nothing happened.

"Oh no, I know what this is. Our magical powers haven't recharged enough so we can't apparate for a while!" Ron exclaimed as he stumbled onto the stone tiled doorstep.  
"Kreacher!" voiced Harry.  
"Yes Master," came the croaked reply, as he opened the door.  
"Could you apparate us to he hill nearest to Luna's house?"  
"Of course." With that Kreacher dropped them off on to a nearby hill, a stone's throw away from Luna's house, before waving back, saying he would cook dinner for later.

"We'll need to check if Luna's home first," said Harry pointing at Luna's entrance, which still housed dirigible plums and the Ravenclaw's diadem shaped door knocker.  
Ron knocked on the door, but there was no response. Harry breathed a large sigh of disappointment and entered more out of frustration more than anything else.  
'Homenum revelio,' he muttered but there was still no response.  
The duo decided to venture deeper inside and saw the printing press still working and printing today's copies of the Quibbler. There was also a pot of some obscure substance brewing in the kitchen which gave off a curious odour.

"That's rather rude you know," came a dreamy voice from behind them.  
"Lu-Luna," came the reply from the disbelieving duo.  
"I never thought you were gone you know. Dad is though, he was punished for betraying you," Luna said with an air of sadness.  
"Luna we need you to help us," implored Harry.  
"Don't worry I'm bridesmaid for both of them."  
"Wa-wait, how did you know we were thinking about that," asked Ron in awe?  
"Why else would you have wanted to come back? It was your heart which made you come back from the dead," Luna said with a voice of steel which Harry and Ron had never heard from her before.

"Now I've just been to fish some fresh Plimpies from the pond, anyone for Plimpy soup?" in a voice much more like her usual airy self, resulting in Harry and Ron giving each other knowing looks considering their previous experience of the Lovegood household's cuisine  
"Don't worry we have lunch with us Luna," as Harry pulled out a small drawstring bag from his jacket, enchanted with an Undetectable Extension Charm.

Together they discussed what Harry and Ron should do over the remaining days including visiting the Burrow, albeit under the Invisibility Cloak as well as what Luna had been up to, such as her takeover of the Quibbler and its booming circulation since the war, overtaking the Daily Prophet as Britain's staple Wizarding newspaper. Luna also had an interesting theory on who had caused their three year coma, but wasn't going to elaborate on it until after the wedding and offered to further help to restore their magical powers as they had faded after a lack of use.

It was now getting towards the evening and Luna wanted to be up tomorrow morning to obtain a report on a Crumple-Horned Snorkack which had allegedly been found in Sweden, despite the Quibbler now being an informative daily newspaper instead of an obscure magazine.  
"Luna, do you mind apparating us back to Grimmauld Place?" asked Harry, stretching his arms.  
"Naturally."

"Well that was fun," remarked Ron on their visit to Luna's house as they stumbled on the front doorstep of Grimmauld Place and said their farewells to Luna.  
"We know one thing. Luna's definitely on our side," said Harry as he gave his jacket to Kreacher to hook on the wall.  
Whilst Kreacher cooked this evening's meal of beef stew, Harry and Ron took it in turns to bath (which now contained a power shower upon Angelina's request).  
After Harry and Ron had dinner, they allotted themselves time towards reading the Quibbler and generally reacquainting themselves with their previous lives.  
Harry further discovered from Kreacher that his financial situation was temporarily being funded by the Black Trust Fund, as Kreacher had direct access to it but could only use it for means not for self-interest, which was the policy for elves anyway.

Harry and Ron resided themselves to sleep at ten o'clock less tired than the day before, reasonably satisfied with the day's proceedings.  
That night Harry had a fitful sleep, occasionally hearing voices of reassurance but couldn't quite place its source. 


	6. The Genius of Mr Weasley

"Harry mate, you alright? You look a bit shaken." said Ron looking at his best friend with worry.

"I think I'm gradually hearing what happened at St Mungo's." Harry said to Ron's astonishment.

"Who did you hear? asked Ron with a hint of desperation.

"I'm not sure yet, but the tone was positive." Harry recalled rubbing his eyes.

Ron was unusually first down to breakfast today and he saw a familiar looking owl in the weary shape of Errol tapping far too furiously, considering his old age, at the window with a letter tied to its legs.

Upon reading the letter, Ron yelled in Harry's direction,

"Get down here quick Harry!"

"Morning, Ron." as Harry appeared from nowhere with a whoosh.

"How can you apparate already?" asked Ron completely forgetting about the letter for the moment.

"It was only a short distance so it didn't use up a lot of my magical capacity." replied Harry.

"Anyway read this from Dad," said Ron as he thrust the letter into Harry's hand.

"We should go and see Luna first," Harry responded with an air of disbelief.

Exactly like the day before, Kreacher helped them apparate to Luna's house, although it was spitting with rain today, so the duo had to Impervious their long-sleeved shirts.

Harry knocked on the door and just like last like last time there was no response much to the surprise of the duo.

Ron opened the door and saw a small piece of paper with slim writing lying on the dining table.

Harry and Ron

I'm at the Burrow.

See you there.

Luna

"How in Merlin's pants did she know that we would come here first?" Ron queried in awe.

Harry didn't need to reply as he knew Luna too well.

"Is it walkable?" Harry asked.

"Yeah it doesn't take too long."

Harry followed Ron out of the door and by this time the raining had subsided so they were able to expose themselves to the warm summer breeze although the ground was still damp.

Ron was clearly forgetting the route to his house as Harry felt like they had passed the same hills several times.

After a couple of hours, they had finally reached within touching distance of the Burrow as they saw an oddly shaped silhouette approaching them which presented an air of familiarity to the duo.

Harry put the Invisibilty Cloak over the pair of them and crouched down to avoid anyone seeing their feet.

"How were we not detected by the enchantments?" questioned Harry as they passed into the confines of the Burrow.

"I think we're still part of the Fidelius Charm or something like that," replied Ron.

"Well Ron here we are," said Harry nervously as he saw Mrs Weasley entering the front door, levitating a bouquet of flowers.

Suddenly Ron heard a disturbance in the garage and he instinctively dragged Harry to it, at the same time dangerously exposing their feet. Ron peeked through the window to ensure only Mr Weasley was in the garage and then knocked.

"Come in," was the reply.

"Dad it's us," whispered Ron as he took off the Invisibilty Cloak.

"Good to see you two again," said Mr Weasley as he took a break from examining a 6 speed manual gearbox.

"Luna's here but Ginny's not here yet," he continued.

"Mr Weasley, do you mind taking us in?" requested Harry.

"Sure, no problem I was just going to go get a cup of tea from the kitchen."

Harry and Ron ducked under the Cloak at the same time taking care to follow closely to Mr Weasley. Mr Weasley opened the door and for Harry in particular, there she stood.

Oh how much Harry had missed her long mane of red hair and of course all of her curves, with the one he missed most being her radiant smile. Vivid memories came back to their days together in Hogwarts as well as walking in Ottery St Catchpole's majestic landscape with clasped hands. Harry was immensely tempted to just bowl her over and kiss her soundly but knew in the long run this was not advised.

Ron pointed towards Ginny's face and Harry saw that she was smiling. But was it a real smile? Or did he see flecks of unhappiness in her eyes?

Harry was disturbed from his thoughts in the form of a silent gasp from Ron.

Together their eyes fixated upon a certain Hermione Granger who looked slightly different from the last time they saw her. Her hair was no longer bushy but had been straightened out and tied in a bun, also the lips which Ron had dreamt about meeting his own with, were now an unnatural shade of rose red.

Harry felt the ground tremor as he saw Ron's face turn a violent shade of purple, which reminded Harry of Uncle Vernon having one of his rants, as Harry had suddenly noticed he himself was shaking and his hands were clenched in fists.

"How dare someone do this to the people they loved!"

Mr Weasley must have noticed the duo's anger as he took a small glance to his left, as he sat by the dining table with Molly and Hermione and Ginny opposite and Ron were trying hard to listen to their conversation as they were hindered slightly by the cloak, trying as hard as possible to not make any sounds.

"So are you two all set for the wedding?" asked Mrs Weasley genially.

Ginny and Hermione nodded their heads in agreement, but Mr Weasley was frowning slightly, although he did his best to manage a strained smile.

"Are you sure that you are marrying the right men?" Mr Weasley asked and at the same time taking a slight glance at Harry and Ron, which was of course thin air to the rest of them.

"Arthur! cried Mrs Weasley in can you say something like that!"

Ginny and Hermione looked on slightly awkwardly, whereas Arthur merely raised his eyebrows as if to say, "let's see what happens then."

Harry and Ron saw Luna serenely gliding into the room as if she had heard nothing at all and the duo made their way towards her, giving Mr Weasley a prod on his left leg as they went past.

Luna guided Harry and Ron to Charlie's old room which she was staying in, two floors above the dining room.

"Do you see their faces?" Luna asked the duo.

"Of course we did!" asked an utterly bemused Ron.

"She meant their reactions to Mr Weasley's rhetorical question Ron," said Harry in a rather Hermione-esque patronising way.

"Wha-oh I see, they looked a bit awkward but that could be because of dad asking the question," Ron replied.

Harry looked thoughtful as he attempted to recall what had happened. He saw Mrs Weasley's reaction in the conversation so he knew where she stood. He couldn't read a lot from the expressions on the faces of Ginny and Hermione but their reactions were definitely not positive, causing a ray of hope to burn through his doubts. Ron looked bemused at Harry's gradual smile as he couldn't figure anything about Ginny and Hermione without them saying anything, despite his mum's reaction to Mr Weasley slightly brash question.

Just then Harry heard footsteps approaching the door and quickly covered the Invisibility Cloak over his and Ron's heads then darted into the corner of the room with Luna pretending to make her bed whilst covering Harry and Ron whom she couldn't see.


End file.
